Rupert Murdoch is a malevolent force in Democracy, both in the UK & US (& Australia). He only backs whichever horse is beneficial to him and his empire. He, like the rest of the GOP establishment and probably against his own instincts, went along with the Trump bandwagon until the situation was no longer of benefit. For far too long Murdoch has had far too much influence in politics and people’s lives - he is a major reason Thatcher was inflicted on the people of the UK. She wouldn’t have succeeded without his backing. People are still living with the devastation she wrought on communities up and down the UK, similar to the “Rust belt”. I hope he gets sued for all he’s worth. He’s already manoeuvring to hitch his cart to Ron DeSantis.
Aug 2, 2022·edited Aug 2, 2022Liked by Robert Reich
Ugh! Ron DeSantis!? In some ways he actually seems Worse than tRump! Book banning! Making it a crime to put a mask on your kid in a pandemic! A frontrunner for Totalitarianism with an anti-science, anti freedom twist. Disney was too far to the left for him! I don't see the majority in this country actually voting for that guy! If he gets into the oval office it will mean trouble. He has absolutely nothing to offer! And he is mean to his constituents to boot! (Causing them to have to pay more taxes because of the Disney thing). Cruelty is his point!
Yeah; he encapsulates all the worst excesses of “Trumpism”, only without the insane, paranoid tweeting at 4am & Trump’s embarrassing “unsophisticated” nature. Oh, and all the dumb lying. The GOP establishment never had any problem with the policies of the Trump Whitehouse, it was Trump himself they can’t stand.
Armyjay ; I have a few 'conservatives' coming into my barber shop who often would say of tRump ; "I wish he would just keep his mouth shut!" : But with the death threats towards those Republicans who stray from the party line, I would suspect that many would not say they dislike some of his ideas. Too risky for their 'careers'.
He’s as bad as Trump……only smarter which makes him even scarier. Note, I didn’t say he was smart….only smarter than Trump. Also, clever should never be confused with smart.
DeathSantis IS worse because, as dopey and brainwashed as he is, he isn't nearly as outwardly INSANE as Bunkerboy is. I have no doubt he will never be president, but just the same, I'd like donny to waddle for president in 2024 and lose to an American.
He is still a toxic shithead who wants to end any Democracy we might have had. If he knows the Constitution, he obviously thinks it's not important to his agenda.
(Wikipedia) "In 1974, Murdoch moved to New York City, to expand into the US market; however, he retained interests in Australia and Britain. In 1981, Murdoch bought The Times, his first British broadsheet, and, in 1985, became a naturalized US citizen, giving up his Australian citizenship, to satisfy the legal requirement for US television network ownership."
Technically correct, morally suspect (i.e. par for the course under Capitalism)
Ronald Reagan fast tracked Rupert Murdoch's citizenship. It only took a year I read. the 'fairness doctrine' that worked with the FCC to keep things somewhat fair and accurate disappeared about then as well.
Murdoch is 1 of the most dangerous, malevolent & destructive men in the world, & has done so much damage to our social cohesion, national unity & democratic institutions.
And let's not forget the Chinese version of Fox "News" - The Epoch TImes. It's unsettling how many Conservatives I know seem to quote only from those two sources. The objective is the same: train people to distrust, fear, and ultimately hate their government.
There is a new website,DeSantis Watch,all kinds of juicy tidbits.How interesting to find out he just COULDN"T 'fix' the unemployment system Rick Scott intentionally set up to fail.( and this during the start of the pandemic when MANY people were so Desperate.Honestly,w/ all the brilliant tech experts in our country,did basically nothing for the HOUSING CRISIS,his loyalist legislators stole billions of our SADOWSKI fund(earmarked for housing needs) for their own projects and never paid it back,we have at least 850,000 children that are food insecure,ad nauseam!!!
“Trump was ecstatic about OAN’s flattering coverage of him. By the summer of 2020 -- dissatisfied with what he considered insufficient gushing by Fox News – Trump was urging his followers to switch to OAN and Newsmax, calling them “much better” than Fox. He did the same after the election, when OAN’s journalists were more willing than many Fox correspondents to continue pushing Trump’s Big Lie.”
Umm, “journalists”? No, not even pundits, but mere on-air “personalities” who parrot the politics of their employers and pander to the prejudices of their viewers.
Aug 2, 2022·edited Aug 2, 2022Liked by Robert Reich
It’s ALWAYS just about money! Gullible viewers listening & believing their lies makes them tons of money!!! Right wing media have gone off the rails & need to be shutdown. They have abused the 1st Amendment & then turn around looking for it’s protection in court! Trumpism is even worse than typical right wing media BS & has corrupted the entire Repub Party! Stopping their lies is an impossible task bec it’s endemic to their nature & belief that they can’t win elections without cheating in any way shape or form!! Shutting their media mouthpieces down would be helpful & prove valuable toward convincing the gullible supporters to use a little bit of the critical thinking skills they must have learned at some point in school. We can only stop the lies from continuing by filing multiple defamation lawsuits & silence them on the airwaves! 1st Amendment abuse deserves to be silenced as punishment!
Defamation may be a crime. On the federal level, there are no criminal defamation laws, However, 23 states and 2 territories have criminal defamation/libel/slander laws on the books, along with 1 state (Iowa) establishing defamation/libel as a criminal offense through case law (without statutorily defined crime):
Daniel Solomon ; Thanks for the seemingly exhaustive list. Pearls before swine,(in my case, since I do not know the law)! Still somewhat informative though even if I don't really fully understand it.
Defamation is a false statement presented as a fact that causes injury or damage to the character of the person it is about. An example is “Tom Smith stole money from his employer.” If this is untrue and if making the statement damages Tom's reputation or ability to work, it is defamation.
In civil court Tom may seek damages.
If it's a crime a DA or prosecuting attorney brings a charge in the name of the state.
E.G. In Florida, it's possible that someone who defames another person can get a year in jail if convicted and pay a fine. In addition the same person can be sued civilly for damages.
Before any criminal action is brought for publication, in a newspaper periodical, of a libel, the prosecutor shall at least 5 days before instituting such action serve notice in writing on defendant, specifying the article and the statements therein which he or she alleges to be false and defamatory.
Correction, apology, or retraction by newspaper.—
(1) If it appears upon the trial that said article was published in good faith; that its falsity was due to an honest mistake of the facts; that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the statements in said article were true; and that, within the period of time specified in subsection (2), a full and fair correction, apology, and retraction was published in the same editions or corresponding issues of the newspaper or periodical in which said article appeared, and in as conspicuous place and type as was said original article, then any criminal proceeding charging libel based on an article so retracted shall be discontinued and barred.
(2) Full and fair correction, apology, or retraction shall be made:
(a) In the case of a broadcast or a daily or weekly newspaper or periodical, within 10 days after service of notice;
(b) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published semimonthly, within 20 days after service of notice;
(c) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published monthly, within 45 days after service of notice; and
(d) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published less frequently than monthly, in the next issue, provided that notice is served no later than 45 days prior to such publication.
I would ask that you list all the crimes Trump is guilty of. I’m an Independent so I listen to both sides on issues and so far every crime I’ve seen him accused of has been debunked. I’m willing to listen but I need proof with receipts, not hearsay.
Aug 2, 2022·edited Aug 2, 2022Liked by Robert Reich
There are citizens, and there are entities. Citizens are flesh-and-blood humans, people, individuals. There are entities - all manner of artificial constructs which act by virtue of their construction. We have drifted from this vital distinction to our detriment.
Also, there are individuals and entities which possess a certain amount of power in our society. There are the powerful, and there are the powerless, making a distinction that really varies in degree.
Not only are natural rights the prerogative of the human and not the entity, natural rights are recognized to protect the individual to the degree that one is powerless. When a powerless individual confronts a powerful entity, protection of the individual should be recognized. The powerful have their power to protect them.
Donald Trump would call upon the First Amendment to protect his speech as President, which is utter nonsense. The President acting in office has NO First Amendment privilege. The First Amendment is intended to protect the individual against the Government.
The absurd ruling of the Supreme Court in Citizens United, that money is speech, is predicated upon the premise that powerful corporations have a co-equal right to protection as the individual. This is a proposition in law, not a derivation from the Constitution.
Persons lie, entities entertain. All the free speech nonsense from Alex Jones is that he is putting on an entertainment show, as is Fox News - the Pro Wrestling of our political culture. Upon what premise do we allow this? Certainly, people prefer entertainment, and over the last 30 years in America, will select the entertaining over the truthful. Only Adam Kinzinger and Elizabeth Cheney among the Republican Party are disgusted by kayfabe, and find entertainment to be a dismal counterfeit of the truth.
Leni Riefenstahl documented the Nazi Party's entertainment rally in Nuremburg, and helped seduce the German people into the romance of feeling certain and proud of themselves - but in terms defined by this horrid show. The American people seem to have a taste for romantic Fascism. It is not true, but it feels good.
We need to consider that truth and its promulgation are untouchable, but ersatz truth such as Fox News are not the same as truth. We need to break our sugar-addiction to political entertainment, and understand again what citizens and our rights entail.
The fewer sources that can spread lies the better. For many, the lawsuits are about money. For those of us that care it’s about accountability. Newsmax and OAN may not recover but there are always going to be big sources that spread lies and they must be held accountable.
I wait for the day (not holding my breath) when OAN, Newmax and Fox are no longer able to reach their rabid members. Maybe then, our country will begin (just begin) to heal.
Unfortunately, they find fertile soil to grow their hatred. For hundreds of years, we have taught our children the myths that justified slavery and segregation and hatred of immigrants. There is much that needs to change before we can truly be a land of the free.
I hope so. I had hoped for a transformation after Watergate. We got a Nixon pardon and a well-meaning and foresightful President, but soon went back to Presidents who told comforting lies. If we let that happen this time, we are doomed.
Thank heavens for these law suits! It seems like the only way we will get rid of these liars and they will be held accountable. Now someone should sue Trump but he usually gets other people to do his dirty work.
Wow! We needed this! Some good news. Now we need a drone strike against InfoWars perhaps. What an evil person. And for him it WAS all about the money and Right Wing audience it seems. Dominion has all the evidence as I understand it. They can prove their hardware was accurate and their bottom line was deeply harmed. Maybe throw in a suit against CyberNinjas, who wasted a lot of taxpayer money in Arizona I think.
If it were only InfoWars and the CyberNinjas and just a few of their friends! There is a wide conspiracy to install fascist government in this country.
Following its installation, the billionaires and CEOs may be surprised to learn that they no longer call the shots. Be careful what you wish for.
It seems that certain media like controversy to the point of stirring up trouble and pushing lies. Kind of like screaming 'fire!' in a crowded theater.
No, Murdoch & Co. don’t just want chaos. They want control. They want to install puppets to do their bidding, so they depict them as strongmen who can put an end to the chaos. (Remember Trump’s campaign—“I alone can end this”. But Trump just added chaos.) Now they need someone to enforce control. That’s DeSantis.
The chaos and anger created when women's right to medical care was ended and the courts were stacked served as a distraction that the Corp owned media exploited to the hilt. There is no doubt that this was not their end game. I doubt that DeSantis will be legitimately elected. Only if there is no Federal response to the voting tricks that are being enacted in some states. There will be hell to pay if the majority of the people are saddled with someone like DeSantis.
I think Murdoch and others are seeing that trumps influence is on the wane and he can't win another election. Therefore they are looking to start promoting another far right candidate to hitch their star to.
They have to determine the risk/reward relationship. On one hand he has a following both in viewers and in sponsors. On the other, he continually spews lies and defamation and they have to determine whether the risk, the contingent liability, outweighs the benefits.
Alberta Lee Coulter ; That plus the very real liability described in today's topic in the form of lawsuits. They are not only embarrassing, but costly. Maybe tRumpism itself will 'lose face', and DeSantis will have trouble gaining traction too. Or any other sycophant elephants!
Trump doubles down. E.G. He is suing a group of people that includes HRC and CNN. I don't think DeSantis is as impetuous.
Plaintiff: Donald J. Trump
Defendant: Hillary R. Clinton, Democratic National Committee, HFACC, Inc., DNC Services Corporation, Perkins Coie, LLC, Michael Sussman, Marc Elias, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Charles Halliday Dolan Jr., Jake Sullivan, John Podesta, Robert E. Mook, Phillipe Reines, Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, Peter Fritsch, Nellie Ohr, Bruce Ohr, Orbis Business Intelligence, Ltd., Christopher Steele, Igor Danchenko, Neustar, Inc., Rodney Joffe, James Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Kevin Clinesmith, Andrew McCabe, John Does 1 through 10, ABC Corporations 1 through 10, United States Of America, Adam Schiff, Rod Rosenstein and Neustar Security Services
The United States was SUBSTITUTED as defendant for James Corney, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Kevin Clinesmith. Defendants James Corney, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Kevin Clinesmith are DISMISSED from this action. Signed by Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks on 7/21/2022.
Motions to dismiss re the others are outstanding.
If his case is dismissed, IMHO claims for malicious abuse of process will be filed by the defendants.
Daniel Solomon ; I guess it's tRump's M.O. to keep the lawsuits going and going ...Just bleed out financially and/ or substantially stress his targets indefinitely. I know that judges can't just ignore a case brought before it, unless they determine that it is frivolous, which takes time to properly determine. But there must be a time when someone as litigious as he could plainly be seen coming. You know, like they have 'got his number'? Why does he get such latitude?
The rich right-wing-nut-jobs being defeated via defunding! Unfortunately big companies are already using this against eco-activists and, of course, their political wing under McConnell has loaded the SCOTUS and is doing the same with other judicial and administrative infrastructures - and no doubt reinforcing their hold on the police and military too, despite the way they treat veterans.
Pardon the nit-picking, but you don't have to be far-left to be anti-fascist (witness ordinary Europeans, Asians, Americans and Africans ((in reverse alphabetical order)) in WW2) and my understanding is that the antifa groups (are they genuinely a movement, other than to neo-fascists?) are, mostly, merely centrists and ordinary left-wingers.
I say this bearing in mind that what passes as 'Centrist' in the US is really quite right-wing, in my opinion; a result of the political and commercial right controlling the perspective of people to further demonise communism, when that was the enemy left after 1945.
As I understand it Antifa was just a term the white supremacists threw out to mean the entire liberal/progressive movement. If there really was such a group I would be proud to join, I've been anti-fascist since I was 6 years old, in October. 1939 (the beginning of WW2) and my father explained the tenets of fascism to me. Obviously a lot of Americans have no idea what Antifa means, or what fascism mean either, for that matter.
EXACTLY!! I was only 3 in 1939, but my family, staunch Republicans were also anti fascist, which was considered patriotic during WWII. That a lot of Americans have no idea what Antifa means has been my take also. I loudly and proudly claim to be Antifa. Can I get an Amen?!?!
Yep, more manipulation; amazing really that they can indoctrinate, er, I mean convince so many people that anti-fascism is a bad thing and, as you say, the Democratic Party is rife with sympathizers.
It's no wonder this GOP want to crush education: unthinking people serve them best.
My experience is that media companies are lawyered up, are well insured and are well aware of their defamation contingent liabilities.
If they are exposed, they can make a public apology and may be exonerated from further exposure. Doesn't always work. Apparently Fox has an April 2023 jury trial date in the Dominion Voting Systems Inc's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit. Venue is in Delaware. I don't know whether the Murdochs are insured.
Sometimes cases can be mediated, arbitrated. In some states, the parties can make an "offer of judgment" and if it is accepted, litigation is swift.
Tort lawyers, personal injury lawyers, medical malpractice lawyers. Some call them ambulance chasers. Meanwhile, they perform the valuable function of social engineering, fixing things, in a civilized way.
This current struggle entails strange bedfellows for someone with left leanings since the Vietnam era. Counting on the FBI , The court systems and the US military to keep election deniers , gun toting white supremacists and assorted lying traitors at bay ,could never have been predicted.
These are the people that were persecuting blacks and hippies. In particular the Chicago eight and black panthers. This is the system that put Muhammad Ali in jail, oh yes, and ended or ruined the lives of thousands of young Americans for a war we shouldn’t have fought. A war where we learned absolutely nothing as evidenced by Iraq. Now it is fashionable to belatedly thank Vietnam veterans for their service. Perhaps one day it will be fashionable to thank the protesters who were instrumental in getting their asses out of there.
Sorry to enter this discussion from an oblique angle. I just needed to express what a long strange trip it’s been.
I think we need to prepare our children better to think for themselves, to learn how to "fact-check", and what it means to live in a democracy .... it's a verb! not a guaranteed state of being. Civics 101. We must do better. We've been had, big-time.
I remember being taught to recognize bias in news articles when I was in school. Probably the most useful thing I ever learned. It’s hard to believe that’s still taught, looking at the situation.
I agree, Paula. It is disheartening and dangerous for our democracy. We have witnessed a huge shift in the quality and presentation of our information from the 1950's to now. Weather reports anthropomorphize the weather ("killer storms"); buzz words sanitize what needs to be recognized and challenged ("conservatives" .... conservatives? really?) We need to start where we are and give feed back when we recognize falsehoods & window dressings. It's not in my nature, but I'm starting to do it.
That’s a good point. I never thought about the anthropomorphizing. I do recognize other language manipulation when I see it though, such as assigning value judgments to neutral words like “socialism” and “liberal.” It’s laughable in a way when you realize it all comes out of desperation. Unfortunately it’s also dangerous.
Rupert Murdoch is a malevolent force in Democracy, both in the UK & US (& Australia). He only backs whichever horse is beneficial to him and his empire. He, like the rest of the GOP establishment and probably against his own instincts, went along with the Trump bandwagon until the situation was no longer of benefit. For far too long Murdoch has had far too much influence in politics and people’s lives - he is a major reason Thatcher was inflicted on the people of the UK. She wouldn’t have succeeded without his backing. People are still living with the devastation she wrought on communities up and down the UK, similar to the “Rust belt”. I hope he gets sued for all he’s worth. He’s already manoeuvring to hitch his cart to Ron DeSantis.
Ugh! Ron DeSantis!? In some ways he actually seems Worse than tRump! Book banning! Making it a crime to put a mask on your kid in a pandemic! A frontrunner for Totalitarianism with an anti-science, anti freedom twist. Disney was too far to the left for him! I don't see the majority in this country actually voting for that guy! If he gets into the oval office it will mean trouble. He has absolutely nothing to offer! And he is mean to his constituents to boot! (Causing them to have to pay more taxes because of the Disney thing). Cruelty is his point!
Yeah; he encapsulates all the worst excesses of “Trumpism”, only without the insane, paranoid tweeting at 4am & Trump’s embarrassing “unsophisticated” nature. Oh, and all the dumb lying. The GOP establishment never had any problem with the policies of the Trump Whitehouse, it was Trump himself they can’t stand.
Armyjay ; I have a few 'conservatives' coming into my barber shop who often would say of tRump ; "I wish he would just keep his mouth shut!" : But with the death threats towards those Republicans who stray from the party line, I would suspect that many would not say they dislike some of his ideas. Too risky for their 'careers'.
Complaining about Trump’s blithering is like complaining about a clock’s ticking.
I know ; I think they were just being defensive about having voted him in.
Like looking in the mirror
Trump never suggested anything that the GQP had not been either preaching or whispering since 1964.
He’s as bad as Trump……only smarter which makes him even scarier. Note, I didn’t say he was smart….only smarter than Trump. Also, clever should never be confused with smart.
Adrienne Jacoby ; Evil and shrewd is not an improvement at any rate! But definitely scarier, if tRump is not scary enough!
We see right thru him,does all this mean stuff then throws a few good ones in.
I haven’t followed DeSatan closely enough to be aware of the good things he has done. Do the trains tun on time?
DeathSantis IS worse because, as dopey and brainwashed as he is, he isn't nearly as outwardly INSANE as Bunkerboy is. I have no doubt he will never be president, but just the same, I'd like donny to waddle for president in 2024 and lose to an American.
That would be better!
Compared with Trump, DeSatan has all of the fascism and other evil, but less of the stupidity. He knows the legislative process.
Along w/ severe abuse of power and we see right thru him
He is still a toxic shithead who wants to end any Democracy we might have had. If he knows the Constitution, he obviously thinks it's not important to his agenda.
I'm thinking this Reedy Creek issue might be in litigation.I wonder who knows.
Good morning! Are you from Florida?
Thank Goodness, no! it's flooding and very humid. there is Much more than insufferable heat there too, that is also insufferable.
Yes, wasn't there a time when foreign ownership of major media companies was disallowed? Once again, the cancer of extreme wealth corrupts society.
Murdoch has been a U.S. citizen for decades.
(Wikipedia) "In 1974, Murdoch moved to New York City, to expand into the US market; however, he retained interests in Australia and Britain. In 1981, Murdoch bought The Times, his first British broadsheet, and, in 1985, became a naturalized US citizen, giving up his Australian citizenship, to satisfy the legal requirement for US television network ownership."
Technically correct, morally suspect (i.e. par for the course under Capitalism)
Ronald Reagan fast tracked Rupert Murdoch's citizenship. It only took a year I read. the 'fairness doctrine' that worked with the FCC to keep things somewhat fair and accurate disappeared about then as well.
Good, then we have jurisdiction to jail him for life for treason, sedition and being evil !
Excellent point.
Murdoch did the same in the UK via Rebekah Brooks for which he should have been fined, convicted & jailed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_International_phone_hacking_scandal
If this defamation case gets up, this could be the slow unwinding of Murdoch, Fox and News Corp.
Murdoch is 1 of the most dangerous, malevolent & destructive men in the world, & has done so much damage to our social cohesion, national unity & democratic institutions.
And let's not forget the Chinese version of Fox "News" - The Epoch TImes. It's unsettling how many Conservatives I know seem to quote only from those two sources. The objective is the same: train people to distrust, fear, and ultimately hate their government.
And his little minions run around taking axes to the foundations of our nation.
There is a new website,DeSantis Watch,all kinds of juicy tidbits.How interesting to find out he just COULDN"T 'fix' the unemployment system Rick Scott intentionally set up to fail.( and this during the start of the pandemic when MANY people were so Desperate.Honestly,w/ all the brilliant tech experts in our country,did basically nothing for the HOUSING CRISIS,his loyalist legislators stole billions of our SADOWSKI fund(earmarked for housing needs) for their own projects and never paid it back,we have at least 850,000 children that are food insecure,ad nauseam!!!
Don’t forget Murdoch’s buddy Putin.
“Trump was ecstatic about OAN’s flattering coverage of him. By the summer of 2020 -- dissatisfied with what he considered insufficient gushing by Fox News – Trump was urging his followers to switch to OAN and Newsmax, calling them “much better” than Fox. He did the same after the election, when OAN’s journalists were more willing than many Fox correspondents to continue pushing Trump’s Big Lie.”
Umm, “journalists”? No, not even pundits, but mere on-air “personalities” who parrot the politics of their employers and pander to the prejudices of their viewers.
Definitely not journalists!
It’s ALWAYS just about money! Gullible viewers listening & believing their lies makes them tons of money!!! Right wing media have gone off the rails & need to be shutdown. They have abused the 1st Amendment & then turn around looking for it’s protection in court! Trumpism is even worse than typical right wing media BS & has corrupted the entire Repub Party! Stopping their lies is an impossible task bec it’s endemic to their nature & belief that they can’t win elections without cheating in any way shape or form!! Shutting their media mouthpieces down would be helpful & prove valuable toward convincing the gullible supporters to use a little bit of the critical thinking skills they must have learned at some point in school. We can only stop the lies from continuing by filing multiple defamation lawsuits & silence them on the airwaves! 1st Amendment abuse deserves to be silenced as punishment!
Defamation may be a crime. On the federal level, there are no criminal defamation laws, However, 23 states and 2 territories have criminal defamation/libel/slander laws on the books, along with 1 state (Iowa) establishing defamation/libel as a criminal offense through case law (without statutorily defined crime):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_defamation_law#Criminal_defamation
Daniel Solomon ; Thanks for the seemingly exhaustive list. Pearls before swine,(in my case, since I do not know the law)! Still somewhat informative though even if I don't really fully understand it.
Defamation is a false statement presented as a fact that causes injury or damage to the character of the person it is about. An example is “Tom Smith stole money from his employer.” If this is untrue and if making the statement damages Tom's reputation or ability to work, it is defamation.
In civil court Tom may seek damages.
If it's a crime a DA or prosecuting attorney brings a charge in the name of the state.
E.G. In Florida, it's possible that someone who defames another person can get a year in jail if convicted and pay a fine. In addition the same person can be sued civilly for damages.
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0836/0836ContentsIndex.html&StatuteYear=2021&Title=%2D%3E2021%2D%3EChapter%20836
Before any criminal action is brought for publication, in a newspaper periodical, of a libel, the prosecutor shall at least 5 days before instituting such action serve notice in writing on defendant, specifying the article and the statements therein which he or she alleges to be false and defamatory.
Correction, apology, or retraction by newspaper.—
(1) If it appears upon the trial that said article was published in good faith; that its falsity was due to an honest mistake of the facts; that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the statements in said article were true; and that, within the period of time specified in subsection (2), a full and fair correction, apology, and retraction was published in the same editions or corresponding issues of the newspaper or periodical in which said article appeared, and in as conspicuous place and type as was said original article, then any criminal proceeding charging libel based on an article so retracted shall be discontinued and barred.
(2) Full and fair correction, apology, or retraction shall be made:
(a) In the case of a broadcast or a daily or weekly newspaper or periodical, within 10 days after service of notice;
(b) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published semimonthly, within 20 days after service of notice;
(c) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published monthly, within 45 days after service of notice; and
(d) In the case of a newspaper or periodical published less frequently than monthly, in the next issue, provided that notice is served no later than 45 days prior to such publication.
Is defamation like slander?
Libel is defamation in print. Slander is defamation in speech.
Slander is a form of defamation.
D.S. ; that's what I thought.
Shirley Roberts ; All true and well said!
I would ask that you list all the crimes Trump is guilty of. I’m an Independent so I listen to both sides on issues and so far every crime I’ve seen him accused of has been debunked. I’m willing to listen but I need proof with receipts, not hearsay.
There are citizens, and there are entities. Citizens are flesh-and-blood humans, people, individuals. There are entities - all manner of artificial constructs which act by virtue of their construction. We have drifted from this vital distinction to our detriment.
Also, there are individuals and entities which possess a certain amount of power in our society. There are the powerful, and there are the powerless, making a distinction that really varies in degree.
Not only are natural rights the prerogative of the human and not the entity, natural rights are recognized to protect the individual to the degree that one is powerless. When a powerless individual confronts a powerful entity, protection of the individual should be recognized. The powerful have their power to protect them.
Donald Trump would call upon the First Amendment to protect his speech as President, which is utter nonsense. The President acting in office has NO First Amendment privilege. The First Amendment is intended to protect the individual against the Government.
The absurd ruling of the Supreme Court in Citizens United, that money is speech, is predicated upon the premise that powerful corporations have a co-equal right to protection as the individual. This is a proposition in law, not a derivation from the Constitution.
Persons lie, entities entertain. All the free speech nonsense from Alex Jones is that he is putting on an entertainment show, as is Fox News - the Pro Wrestling of our political culture. Upon what premise do we allow this? Certainly, people prefer entertainment, and over the last 30 years in America, will select the entertaining over the truthful. Only Adam Kinzinger and Elizabeth Cheney among the Republican Party are disgusted by kayfabe, and find entertainment to be a dismal counterfeit of the truth.
Leni Riefenstahl documented the Nazi Party's entertainment rally in Nuremburg, and helped seduce the German people into the romance of feeling certain and proud of themselves - but in terms defined by this horrid show. The American people seem to have a taste for romantic Fascism. It is not true, but it feels good.
We need to consider that truth and its promulgation are untouchable, but ersatz truth such as Fox News are not the same as truth. We need to break our sugar-addiction to political entertainment, and understand again what citizens and our rights entail.
I’m glad you mentioned Leni Riefenstahl. A great analogy.
You have written a post that needs to be read by everybody, not just us on Substack. Thank you for this insight,
The fewer sources that can spread lies the better. For many, the lawsuits are about money. For those of us that care it’s about accountability. Newsmax and OAN may not recover but there are always going to be big sources that spread lies and they must be held accountable.
I wait for the day (not holding my breath) when OAN, Newmax and Fox are no longer able to reach their rabid members. Maybe then, our country will begin (just begin) to heal.
Unfortunately, they find fertile soil to grow their hatred. For hundreds of years, we have taught our children the myths that justified slavery and segregation and hatred of immigrants. There is much that needs to change before we can truly be a land of the free.
Dare I say it?
Because of this, the excellent work of the January 6th commission, and other recent news I feel some still tenuous signs of hope.
Professor Reich, and so many others, may you continue to have good health and support in your life to be able to carry on with your important work.
I hope so. I had hoped for a transformation after Watergate. We got a Nixon pardon and a well-meaning and foresightful President, but soon went back to Presidents who told comforting lies. If we let that happen this time, we are doomed.
Thank heavens for these law suits! It seems like the only way we will get rid of these liars and they will be held accountable. Now someone should sue Trump but he usually gets other people to do his dirty work.
He has a lot of legal problems. Here's a list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lawsuits_involving_Donald_Trump
Didn't he have many lawsuits before even running for president?
Yes and he had to pay millions in some of them.
Nancy Roessel ; New twist on "Go F#6k yourself!"Responding to the fact that "he usually gets other people to do his dirty work." couldn't resist.
Wow! We needed this! Some good news. Now we need a drone strike against InfoWars perhaps. What an evil person. And for him it WAS all about the money and Right Wing audience it seems. Dominion has all the evidence as I understand it. They can prove their hardware was accurate and their bottom line was deeply harmed. Maybe throw in a suit against CyberNinjas, who wasted a lot of taxpayer money in Arizona I think.
If it were only InfoWars and the CyberNinjas and just a few of their friends! There is a wide conspiracy to install fascist government in this country.
Following its installation, the billionaires and CEOs may be surprised to learn that they no longer call the shots. Be careful what you wish for.
Well said and no disagreement here. Troubling times for sure.
It's more likely that the Murdochs found tRump less useful, not that they have had a change of heart. (they have hearts?).
Trump brought in advertising dollars.
It seems that certain media like controversy to the point of stirring up trouble and pushing lies. Kind of like screaming 'fire!' in a crowded theater.
No, Murdoch & Co. don’t just want chaos. They want control. They want to install puppets to do their bidding, so they depict them as strongmen who can put an end to the chaos. (Remember Trump’s campaign—“I alone can end this”. But Trump just added chaos.) Now they need someone to enforce control. That’s DeSantis.
The chaos and anger created when women's right to medical care was ended and the courts were stacked served as a distraction that the Corp owned media exploited to the hilt. There is no doubt that this was not their end game. I doubt that DeSantis will be legitimately elected. Only if there is no Federal response to the voting tricks that are being enacted in some states. There will be hell to pay if the majority of the people are saddled with someone like DeSantis.
And now doesn’t bring in enough.
I think Murdoch and others are seeing that trumps influence is on the wane and he can't win another election. Therefore they are looking to start promoting another far right candidate to hitch their star to.
They have to determine the risk/reward relationship. On one hand he has a following both in viewers and in sponsors. On the other, he continually spews lies and defamation and they have to determine whether the risk, the contingent liability, outweighs the benefits.
Trump created chaos, which is what they wanted. Now, they run DeSantis to end the chaos that Trump created.
Alberta Lee Coulter ; That plus the very real liability described in today's topic in the form of lawsuits. They are not only embarrassing, but costly. Maybe tRumpism itself will 'lose face', and DeSantis will have trouble gaining traction too. Or any other sycophant elephants!
Trump doubles down. E.G. He is suing a group of people that includes HRC and CNN. I don't think DeSantis is as impetuous.
Plaintiff: Donald J. Trump
Defendant: Hillary R. Clinton, Democratic National Committee, HFACC, Inc., DNC Services Corporation, Perkins Coie, LLC, Michael Sussman, Marc Elias, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Charles Halliday Dolan Jr., Jake Sullivan, John Podesta, Robert E. Mook, Phillipe Reines, Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, Peter Fritsch, Nellie Ohr, Bruce Ohr, Orbis Business Intelligence, Ltd., Christopher Steele, Igor Danchenko, Neustar, Inc., Rodney Joffe, James Comey, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Kevin Clinesmith, Andrew McCabe, John Does 1 through 10, ABC Corporations 1 through 10, United States Of America, Adam Schiff, Rod Rosenstein and Neustar Security Services
The United States was SUBSTITUTED as defendant for James Corney, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Kevin Clinesmith. Defendants James Corney, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Kevin Clinesmith are DISMISSED from this action. Signed by Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks on 7/21/2022.
Motions to dismiss re the others are outstanding.
If his case is dismissed, IMHO claims for malicious abuse of process will be filed by the defendants.
Daniel Solomon ; I guess it's tRump's M.O. to keep the lawsuits going and going ...Just bleed out financially and/ or substantially stress his targets indefinitely. I know that judges can't just ignore a case brought before it, unless they determine that it is frivolous, which takes time to properly determine. But there must be a time when someone as litigious as he could plainly be seen coming. You know, like they have 'got his number'? Why does he get such latitude?
He's playing with fire.
Justice would be black pudding! For him!
Let's hope TRump will continue to take the advice of Rudy Guliano and Sydney Powell
Trump is now irrelevant. He was only the setup man for DeSatan.
Any defamation law suits against Steve Bannon?
He master minded most of Trump's strategies and on his media radio show, he spreads all of the election & conspiracy lies.
Appreciation to Robert Reich for his dedication to Democracy and his lazer focus on the issues.
His knowledgeable answers of how to address the issues of American politics, is expertly conveyed in his emails. He is my trusted source of the truth.
The rich right-wing-nut-jobs being defeated via defunding! Unfortunately big companies are already using this against eco-activists and, of course, their political wing under McConnell has loaded the SCOTUS and is doing the same with other judicial and administrative infrastructures - and no doubt reinforcing their hold on the police and military too, despite the way they treat veterans.
Pardon the nit-picking, but you don't have to be far-left to be anti-fascist (witness ordinary Europeans, Asians, Americans and Africans ((in reverse alphabetical order)) in WW2) and my understanding is that the antifa groups (are they genuinely a movement, other than to neo-fascists?) are, mostly, merely centrists and ordinary left-wingers.
I say this bearing in mind that what passes as 'Centrist' in the US is really quite right-wing, in my opinion; a result of the political and commercial right controlling the perspective of people to further demonise communism, when that was the enemy left after 1945.
As I understand it Antifa was just a term the white supremacists threw out to mean the entire liberal/progressive movement. If there really was such a group I would be proud to join, I've been anti-fascist since I was 6 years old, in October. 1939 (the beginning of WW2) and my father explained the tenets of fascism to me. Obviously a lot of Americans have no idea what Antifa means, or what fascism mean either, for that matter.
EXACTLY!! I was only 3 in 1939, but my family, staunch Republicans were also anti fascist, which was considered patriotic during WWII. That a lot of Americans have no idea what Antifa means has been my take also. I loudly and proudly claim to be Antifa. Can I get an Amen?!?!
Maybe we should start our own😁
Wow, glad you're still soldiering on : )
Yep, more manipulation; amazing really that they can indoctrinate, er, I mean convince so many people that anti-fascism is a bad thing and, as you say, the Democratic Party is rife with sympathizers.
It's no wonder this GOP want to crush education: unthinking people serve them best.
The Wheels Of Justice are slower than Molasses In January!
My experience is that media companies are lawyered up, are well insured and are well aware of their defamation contingent liabilities.
If they are exposed, they can make a public apology and may be exonerated from further exposure. Doesn't always work. Apparently Fox has an April 2023 jury trial date in the Dominion Voting Systems Inc's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit. Venue is in Delaware. I don't know whether the Murdochs are insured.
Sometimes cases can be mediated, arbitrated. In some states, the parties can make an "offer of judgment" and if it is accepted, litigation is swift.
Tort lawyers, personal injury lawyers, medical malpractice lawyers. Some call them ambulance chasers. Meanwhile, they perform the valuable function of social engineering, fixing things, in a civilized way.
This current struggle entails strange bedfellows for someone with left leanings since the Vietnam era. Counting on the FBI , The court systems and the US military to keep election deniers , gun toting white supremacists and assorted lying traitors at bay ,could never have been predicted.
These are the people that were persecuting blacks and hippies. In particular the Chicago eight and black panthers. This is the system that put Muhammad Ali in jail, oh yes, and ended or ruined the lives of thousands of young Americans for a war we shouldn’t have fought. A war where we learned absolutely nothing as evidenced by Iraq. Now it is fashionable to belatedly thank Vietnam veterans for their service. Perhaps one day it will be fashionable to thank the protesters who were instrumental in getting their asses out of there.
Sorry to enter this discussion from an oblique angle. I just needed to express what a long strange trip it’s been.
I’m glad you posted this, Earl. It makes a lot of sense. It is like being through the looking glass.
I think we need to prepare our children better to think for themselves, to learn how to "fact-check", and what it means to live in a democracy .... it's a verb! not a guaranteed state of being. Civics 101. We must do better. We've been had, big-time.
I remember being taught to recognize bias in news articles when I was in school. Probably the most useful thing I ever learned. It’s hard to believe that’s still taught, looking at the situation.
I agree, Paula. It is disheartening and dangerous for our democracy. We have witnessed a huge shift in the quality and presentation of our information from the 1950's to now. Weather reports anthropomorphize the weather ("killer storms"); buzz words sanitize what needs to be recognized and challenged ("conservatives" .... conservatives? really?) We need to start where we are and give feed back when we recognize falsehoods & window dressings. It's not in my nature, but I'm starting to do it.
That’s a good point. I never thought about the anthropomorphizing. I do recognize other language manipulation when I see it though, such as assigning value judgments to neutral words like “socialism” and “liberal.” It’s laughable in a way when you realize it all comes out of desperation. Unfortunately it’s also dangerous.
Sadly, yes.